House wiring structure



Nov. 22, 1932. a. CARLSON ET AL 1,883,847

HOUSE WIRING STRUCTURE Filed Sept. 11. 1929 mx; j} Inventor-s. i W 1 George: Carlson. I-vi 6 Homer G. Kn oclezrc-zr: h Att' (EH OTT'WQY.

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Patented Nov. 22, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1 GEORGE CARLSON, F ANSONIA, AND HOMER G. KNODERER, OF FAIRFIELID, CONNECTI- CUT, ASSIGNOBS TO GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK HOUSE WIRING STRUCTURE Application fled September @111" invention relates to house wiring 'ineans. More particularly it relates to supporting devices for the elements of a house wiring system, such as receptacles, fixtures, and the like, and to supporting devices or braces especially adapted for use in connection with the wiring of old structures having lath and plaster walls. 7

Heretofore devices in house wiring systems have been secured directly to the wall material, that is, to the plaster and the lathe or both. Such means of support has been unsatisfactory because, for example, it is not always possible to strike laths and when they are found they are very often split or cracked,

thus making it difficult to substantially secure the elements of the wiring system to the wall.

llt is an object of our invention to provide a form of brace which may be used as a standard element in a system of house wiring. is an object to provide a brace which may be readily and efiectively clamped to a plaster wall; to provide a brace which may be collapsed and inserted through a hole in the wall having a smaller dimension than the brace when the latter is fully extended; to

provide means for clamping the brace to the well about the region of the hole through which the collapsible element of the brace is inserted, thus forming a clearly defined wall structure for receiving one of the elements of the system as for example a receptacle and brace to which the receptacle may be secured. The foregoing and other features of the invention will be more fully understood from the accompanying specifications and claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 shows the collapsible or rear element of the brace in perspective from the front. In this figure the element is shown iully distended as it would be when secured to the wall. Fig. 2 shows the same element in a similar view in a collapsed or telescoped condition ready to be inserted into a hole about which the brace-is to be secured to the wall. In Fig. 3 the element of Figs. 1 and 2, is shownbeing inserted through the hole. Fig. 4: is a plan View of the front element of the brace between which and the rear 11, 1929. Serial No. 391,899.

element, Fig. 1, the portion of the wall about, the hole is clamped as shown in Fig. 5. Fig. 5 shows in perspective and partly in section the brace in position in the wall. In this figure there is also shown in a so-called exploded View, a receptacle which is adapted to be secured to the brace, which receptacle in turn is adapted to receive elements of the wiring system, such as a switch block, a fuse block, a bracket, or any other form of equipment.

Referring more in detail to the drawing, the brace in the form illustrated comprises a front section 2, Fig. 4, and a rear section A, Figs. 1 and 3, comprising a pair of overlapping plates 3 and 4 held in interlocked relation by means of screws 5 and 6, the screw 6' being in threaded engagement with the plate 3 and the screw 5 in similar engagement with the plate 41-. As shown, plate 8 is provided with a slot 7 through which screw 5 extends, while the plate l is provided with,

a similar slot 8 through which the screw 6 extends. The section A, as constructed, is adapted to be collapsed or telescoped, so to speak, and inserted through the hole in the wall about which the brace is to be secured. in Fig. :2 section A is shown telescoped or collapsed in readiness to be inserted in the hole in the wall. In Fig. 3 the section A is shown inserted half way through the hole in the wall. After section A has completely cleared the hole it is opened up, as in Fig. l, and applied to the rim of the hole behind the wall, as shown in Fig. 5, with the screws 5 and 6 projecting through the hole, the screw 5 being preferably located in the notch 9, see Fig. 3, and the screw 6 in the notch 10. Thereafter the ring 2 is slipped over the heads of the screws 5 and 6, as indicated in Fig. 5. It will be understood that the heads of the screws clear the ring by way of the perforations 10, after which the ring is 1'0- tated to bring the necks of the screws 5 and 6 into narrow slots extending laterally from the perforations 10'. After the ring and the screws havebeen thus interlocked, the fl out and back members A and 2 may be tightly clamped to the wall by means of the screws 5 and 6, as indicated Fig. 5. By means of a brace of this kind it is possible to provide a substantial support for the elements of the wiring system about a hole in the wall, the bordering sectionof the wall being at the same time reinforced and rendered as substantial as, or more so than, before the wall was perforated. Through this hole a cable extending behind the wall may be pulled through for the purpose of making connections and thereafter restored behind the wall. The hole also is adapted to receive an element such as the box, within which box elements of the system, such asswitches,

fuses, and the like, may be safely enclosed. For example, after the brace is in position the box 11 may be thrust in the hole through 'the brace and wall and secured to the brace is in place, thus closing up the lower end of the box.- The switch block and the bottom element 16 are adjustable bymeans of the screws 15, these two elements 14 and 16 being spaced with respect to each other so that the switch block 14 and the base 16 may be clamped in place by the cover ring 17, which latter is adapted to be secured to the flange 19 of the box 11 by any suitable means as, for example,-by screws 20, the inner port on of the ring17 resting on the-marginal portion 18 of the block 14, thus holding the block tightly in position with the central portion of the switch; block projecting through the hole in the ring. If found not to be so, the

bottom element 16' and the switch block 14 may be wedged between the flange 11 and cover ring 1 by turning. the screws 15, the heads of which are accessible through the perforations 17' in the ring 17. 7

Before the switch block is put inthe box the cable 22, which runs along'the rear of the plaster wall, may be drawn through the hole in the wall and in the brace and also through the hole'in the bottom of the box and secured to the bottom element 16. The armor of the cable may be secured to this bottom element by thrusting the cable through one of the holes 23 and clampin it to the element by means of screw 24. the cable or of each of the cables (if several are used) isgrounded on the bottom element 16 by means of screw 25. Therother conductor 26 of the cable or of each cable (when several are used) is connected directly to one of the terminals of the switch block or other wiring device. By this arrangement all of ne of the wires 25 of the exposed parts of the system are grounded,

thus insuring safety against electric shocks by anyone touching any of the exposed parts.

By our invention we provide an improved brace or clamp for a wall, adapted to be applied to the marginal region about an opening in the wall, as shown in Fig. 5. One of the plates of the brace or clamp, that is plate 2, is in the form of a rigid unit element adapted to be applied to one side of the wall, preferably the outside wall. The other plate, which is adapted to be applied to the other side of the wall, is collapsible; that is, it is formed of two sections which are interlinked as, for example, by means of the screws 5 and 6 in such a manner that one of the dimensions of the plate may be reduced, as shown in Fig. 2, to permit of its being passed through a hole in the wall from the front to the rear, as indicated in Fig. 3, where it is then applied to the rear marginal region of the wall, as shown in Fig. 5. The front and rear plates may then be readily clamped together from the front as already explained. Therefore, the plate 2-inay beconsidered as means for as the screws 5 and 6.

clamping the rear plateto the wall, as well In the position shown in Fig. 2, the sections 3 and 4 'of the rear plate overlap only along one dimension, that is, along the dimension parallel. to the face of the clamp which is applied to the wall. In the position shown in Fig. 5 the same sections overlap along two dimensions, namely, along the plane of the wall, as for example, above the tip portions T and T and also along the dimension of the thickness of the plates, that is, in a'direction transverse the wall. This is more clearly seen in Fig. 1. As a result, the front faces of the sections 3 and 4, barrin the tip portions T and T, lie in the same p ane, and may be readily applied to the rear face of the wall. In order to produce the overlapping condition of Fig. 5 (or Fi 1) the tip portions T and T are bent out of t e plane of the rest of the respective sections as shown in Fig. 1. As shown in this figure, the screws 5 and 6 pass respectively through the plates 3- and 4, each screw being anchored in one of the sections in a threaded hole, each screw passing through its. corresponding slots 7 and 8.

:Referring to Fig. 1, the sections 3 and 4am provided each with overlapping terminals a and b, which project beyond a plane through the axes of the screws 5 and 6. The object of providing these projections is to minimize the liability of the plate Fig. 1 from buckling due to unevenness in the wall. Words, the object is to maintain the sections 3 and 4 in the same plane. We find in this connection that the larger the sections are made the less the liability of the sections be- .ing thrown out of alignment. The object of maintaining these sections in the same plane In other is to insure the even distribution of the stresses over the wall when the front and rear sections are drawn together in the clamping operation.

It will be seen that we provide a novel and eiiicient brace or clamp by means of which wiring, and particularly wiring in an old building, may be more eilectively and more quickly done than with means heretofore provided.

We do not claim in this application the structure of the receptacle supported by the device of the invention shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4 inasmuch as this structure is the subject matter of U. S. application Serial No. 391,900, having the same filing date as this application.

lt will be understood that while we have elected to describe our invention in connection with the specific form of device illustrated in the drawing, we do not wish to be limited to such form inasmuch as we contemplate variations and modifications within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the claims contained herein.

What we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

, the overall dimensions thereof suficiently to said sections together and for permitting said sections to move with respect to each other to reduce one or the overall dimensions of said plate and or" its said hole sufiiciently to permit the plate being passed through a hole substantially of said given size and to thereafter restore the said plate and its hole to its normal size, and means for then clamping said plate against a fiat perforated body, said i means comprising a second plate having a hole adapted to stand in line with the hole in the iirSt named plate, and means to clamp said plates together on opposite sides of said perforated body.

3. A brace comprising a pair of plates facing each other and each provided with a hole of a given size therein, one of said plates comprising a plurality of sections, means for locking said sections together and for permitting them to move with respect to each other, whereby the overall dimensions of said plate maybe reduced sufliciently to permit the plate being passed through a hole of said given size in a wall, said means serving also for clamping the section of the wall around said hole between the plates of said brace, all of said holes being located in alignment along a given axis.

4. A supporting device for one of the elements of a house wiring system, said device comprising a pair of plates having holes therein and means for clamping the section of a wall around a hole therein between said plates, one of said plates being formed in two sections slidably interlinked with respect to each other whereby said last mentioned plate may be passed through said hole in the wall to the rear of said wall and thereafter applied to said wall around said hole, said other plate being applied to the front part of the wall around the same hole, and means for clamping the two plates to ether with the wall between them and wit the holes in the plates and the hole in the wall in alignment along a given axis.

5. A clamp adapted to be applied to a wall along the margin of a hole in said wall, said clamp comprising a pair of plates one for the margin at the front of the wall and the other for the margin at the rear thereof, each plate being provided with a hole, one of said plates being in the form of a rigid unit and the other comprising a plurality of separate sections, and means for clamping both of said plates to the wall over said margin with all of said holes in alignment.

6. A clamp adapted to be applied to a wall along the margin of a hole in said wall, said clamp comprising a pair of plates one for the margin at the front of the wall and the other for the margin at the rear thereof,

each plate having a hole therein, one of said plates being in the form of a rigid unit and the other being formed of two separate sections, and means for clamping both of said plates to the wall over said margin with all of said holes in alignment, said sections of one of said plates overlapping each other.

7. A clamp adapted to he applied to a Wall along the margin of a hole in said wall, said clamp comprising a pair of plates one for the margin at the front of the wall and the other for the margin at the rear thereof, each plate having a hole therein, one of said plates being in the form of a rigid unit and the other being formed of two separate sections, and means for clamping both of said plates to the wall over said margin with all of said holes in alignment, said sections of one of said plates overlapping each other clamp comprising a pair of plates one for the said sections of one of said plates being slotted, said clamping means extending through said slots.

9. A clamp adapted to be applied to a I wall along the margin of a hole in said wall,

said clamp comprising a pair of plates one for the front margin and the other for the rear margin about said hole, each plate being provided with a hole therein, one of said plates being in the form of a rigid unit and the other being formed of two separate sections, and means for clamping both of'said plates to the wall over said margin with all of said holes in alignment, one of said sections of one of said plates being slotted, said clamping means extending through said slot.

10. A clamp adapted to be applied to a wall along the margin of a hole therein, said clamp comprising a rigid plate and a collapsible plate, and means for clamping said plates to the wall along the said margin with one plate on each side of the wall, said collapsible plate being adapted to be collapsed and then inserted through the hole in the wall from the front thereof toward the rear and then expanded to engage the margin of the hole, whereby the clamp may be applied to said margin of the wall from one side thereof.

.11. A clamp adapted to be applied to a wall along the margin of a hole therein, said clamp comprising a rigid plate and a collapsible plate, and means for'clamping said plates to the wall along the said margin with one plate on each side of the wall, said collapsible plate being adapted to be collapsed and then inserted through the hole in the wall from the front thereof toward the rear and then expanded to engage the margin of the hole whereby the clamp may be applied to said region of the wall from one side thereof, said sections overlapping each other along two dimensions thereof, one extending along the wall and the other extend- -ing in a direction transverse the wall.

12. A clamp adapted to be applied toa wall along the margin of a hole therein, said clamp comprising a rigid plate and a collapsible plate, and means for clamping said plates to the wall along the said margin with one plate on each side of the wall, said collapsible plate being adapted to be collapsed and then inserted through the hole.

in the wall from the front thereof toward the rear and then expanded to engage the margin of the hole, whereby the clamp may be applied to said region of the wall from one'side thereof, said sections of said collapsible plate being slotted, said clamping means extending through said slots.

13. A clamp adapted to be applied to a wall along the margin of a hole therein, said clamp comprising a rigid plate and a collapsible plate, and means for clamping sa1d plates to the wall along the said margin with one plate on each side of the wall, saidcollapsible plate being adapted to be collapsed and then inserted through the hole in the wall from the front thereof toward the rear and then expanded to engage the margin of the hole, whereby the clamp may be applied to said region of the wall from one side thereof, said sections of said collapsible plate being slotted, said clamping means extending through said slots, said sections overlapping each other along two dimensions thereof, one

extending along the wall and the other extending in a direction transverse the wall,

14. A clamp adapted to be applied to a wall along the margin 1 of a hole therein, 'said clamp comprising a rigid plate and a collapsible plate, and means .for clamping said plates to the wall alongthe said margin with one plate on each side of the wall, said collapsibleplate being adapted to be collapsed and then inserted through-the hole in the wall from the front thereof toward the rear and comprising a rigid plate and a' collapsible plate, and means for clamping said plates to the wall along the said margin with one plate on each side of the wall, said collapsible plate being adapted to'be collapsed and then inserted through the hole in the wall from A clamp adapted to be applied to a wall v the front thereof toward the rear and then late, and means for clamping said plates to the wall along the said margin with one plate on each side-of the wall, said colla sible plate being adapted to be collapsed anc then inserted through the hole'in the wall from the front thereof toward the rear and then expanded to engage the margin of the hole,

whereby the clamp may be applied to said region of the Wall from one side thereof, said clamping means comprising a pair of screws extending each through the front plate and through one of the sections of the rear plate and being each in threaded engagement with one of the sections of the rear plate.

In Witness whereof, We have hereunto set our hands this third day of September 1929.

GEORGE GARLSON. HOMER G. KNODERER. 

